LLWS notebook: Rainy day, swag and pin trading

Updated 7:43 pm, Friday, August 18, 2017

Fairfield American Anthony Pollack shows his mom Millie some little league pins he got for his collection while at Genettis Hotel in downtown Williamsport, Penn., on Friday Aug. 18, 2017. Due to rain, team practice was cancelled, which allowed the kids to join their parents at the hotel. less

Fairfield American Anthony Pollack shows his mom Millie some little league pins he got for his collection while at Genettis Hotel in downtown Williamsport, Penn., on Friday Aug. 18, 2017. Due to rain, team ... more

Fairfield American’s Michael Iannazzo trades Little League pins with his friends and teammates at Genetti Hotel on Friday in downtown Williamsport, Pa. Due to rain, team practice was cancelled, allowing the kids to join their families at the hotel. less

Fairfield American’s Michael Iannazzo trades Little League pins with his friends and teammates at Genetti Hotel on Friday in downtown Williamsport, Pa. Due to rain, team practice was cancelled, allowing the ... more

A rain delay keeps away the crowds at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Penn., on Friday Aug. 18, 2017. Fairfield American's team practice was cancelled, which allowed the kids to join their families at Genetti's Hotel in downtown Williamsport for some down time. less

A rain delay keeps away the crowds at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Penn., on Friday Aug. 18, 2017. Fairfield American's team practice was cancelled, which allowed the kids to join their ... more

A rain delay keeps away the crowds at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Penn., on Friday Aug. 18, 2017. Fairfield American's team practice was cancelled, which allowed the kids to join their families at Genetti's Hotel in downtown Williamsport for some down time. less

A rain delay keeps away the crowds at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Penn., on Friday Aug. 18, 2017. Fairfield American's team practice was cancelled, which allowed the kids to join their ... more

A rain delay keeps away the crowds at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Penn., on Friday Aug. 18, 2017. Fairfield American's team practice was cancelled, which allowed the kids to join their families at Genetti's Hotel in downtown Williamsport for some down time. less

A rain delay keeps away the crowds at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Penn., on Friday Aug. 18, 2017. Fairfield American's team practice was cancelled, which allowed the kids to join their ... more

A rain delay keeps away the crowds at the Little League World Serieson Friday in South Williamsport, Pa. Fairfield American’s practice was cancelled, which allowed the kids to join their families at Genetti Hotel in downtown Williamsport. less

A rain delay keeps away the crowds at the Little League World Serieson Friday in South Williamsport, Pa. Fairfield American’s practice was cancelled, which allowed the kids to join their families at Genetti ... more

A rain delay doesn't stop an intrepid soul from trying to slide down the hill at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Penn., on Friday Aug. 18, 2017. Fairfield American's team practice was cancelled, which allowed the kids to join their families at Genetti's Hotel in downtown Williamsport for some down time. less

A rain delay doesn't stop an intrepid soul from trying to slide down the hill at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Penn., on Friday Aug. 18, 2017. Fairfield American's team practice was ... more

Volunteer Megan Boyd cleans up in the stands as a rain delay keeps away the crowds at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Penn., on Friday Aug. 18, 2017. Fairfield American's team practice was cancelled, which allowed the kids to join their families at Genetti's Hotel in downtown Williamsport for some down time. less

Volunteer Megan Boyd cleans up in the stands as a rain delay keeps away the crowds at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Penn., on Friday Aug. 18, 2017. Fairfield American's team practice was ... more

A rain delay keeps away the crowds at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Penn., on Friday Aug. 18, 2017. Fairfield American's team practice was cancelled, which allowed the kids to join their families at Genetti's Hotel in downtown Williamsport for some down time. less

A rain delay keeps away the crowds at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Penn., on Friday Aug. 18, 2017. Fairfield American's team practice was cancelled, which allowed the kids to join their ... more

A rain delay keeps away the crowds at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Penn., on Friday Aug. 18, 2017. Fairfield American's team practice was cancelled, which allowed the kids to join their families at Genetti's Hotel in downtown Williamsport for some down time. less

A rain delay keeps away the crowds at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Penn., on Friday Aug. 18, 2017. Fairfield American's team practice was cancelled, which allowed the kids to join their ... more

A rain delay keeps away the crowds at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Penn., on Friday Aug. 18, 2017. Fairfield American's team practice was cancelled, which allowed the kids to join their families at Genetti's Hotel in downtown Williamsport for some down time. less

A rain delay keeps away the crowds at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Penn., on Friday Aug. 18, 2017. Fairfield American's team practice was cancelled, which allowed the kids to join their ... more

As rain delays game action, customers browse for merchandise at the Little League World Series gift shop in South Williamsport, Penn., on Friday Aug. 18, 2017. Fairfield American's team practice was cancelled, which allowed the kids to join their families at Genetti's Hotel in downtown Williamsport for some down time. less

As rain delays game action, customers browse for merchandise at the Little League World Series gift shop in South Williamsport, Penn., on Friday Aug. 18, 2017. Fairfield American's team practice was cancelled, ... more

During a rain delay, New England fans Jeff Astore and his son Brayden, 11, buy merchandise at the Little League World Series gift shop in South Williamsport, Penn., on Friday Aug. 18, 2017. Fairfield American's team practice was cancelled, which allowed the kids to join their families at Genetti's Hotel in downtown Williamsport for some down time. less

During a rain delay, New England fans Jeff Astore and his son Brayden, 11, buy merchandise at the Little League World Series gift shop in South Williamsport, Penn., on Friday Aug. 18, 2017. Fairfield American's ... more

New England fan Mary Myers dons a poncho as a rain delay keeps away the crowds at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Penn., on Friday Aug. 18, 2017. Fairfield American's team practice was cancelled, which allowed the kids to join their families at Genetti's Hotel in downtown Williamsport for some down time. less

New England fan Mary Myers dons a poncho as a rain delay keeps away the crowds at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Penn., on Friday Aug. 18, 2017. Fairfield American's team practice was ... more

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Jeff Astore made his way through the merchandise area at Lamade Stadium, looking for a New England jersey. Outside, the rain was coming down hard, and Astore and his son, Brayden, 11, were seeking shelter from the storm, as well as looking to get some serious swag.

This was the third time that Astore, who hails from Pittsfield, Mass., has brought Brayden to Williamsport and the Little League World Series, to cheer on the New England representative, this year Fairfield American.

“It’s about a five-hour journey, but we get down here for opening day and stay through the weekend,” Astore said. “We follow New England … watched them play yesterday, great game, great comeback by New Jersey and that’s what you want to see, a competitive game. It was fun.”

While he enjoys watching Little League baseball, Brayden doesn’t play Little League baseball. Not anymore.

One of the highlights for Brayden was going through the Little League museum, checking out all the displays.

“They have a thing that tells you how fast you can run to first base,” Brayden said. “It times you. And then there’s a thing where you can try and catch a ball by jumping against a fence. It’s pretty cool.”

BOOK SELLER: In the lobby of the Genetti Hotel in downtown Williamsport, Gary Yeagle sat behind a table with a couple dozen copies of his book, “Little Big Men … The Road to Williamsport,” a book about the 2002 Louisville team that won the Little League World Series.

“I grew up in Louisville and that summer I watched those kids,” Yeagle said. “They went 23-0 and they outscored their opponents 135 to 15. It was unbelievable.”

Yeagle has Little League running through his veins. In 1959, he played on the first “named” Little League team (Lycoming Dairy), playing third base. Watching those Louisville kids bought back a lot of memories, so he decided to write the book.

PIN TRADERS: Also in the lobby of the Genetti hotel were dozens of kids, including the entire Fairfield American team, buying and trading Little League pins of all shapes and sizes.

“This is a lot of fun,” Michael Iannazzo said, opening up his pin-trading bag to show off over a 100 pins, maybe even closer to 200. “I like the ‘sets’ that you can get.”

Iannazzo showed off a set of all 16 team jerseys for the this year’s tournament, a set he got by swapping just one single pin.

“That’s probably my favorite,” Iannazzo said, displaying a large pirate ship pin that displays several different districts in Ohio. “I traded that with Matt (Vivona).”

While into the pin trading, Vivona is still catching up to Iannazzo in the quanity department, with just 100 or so pins to his collection.

“I have the champions pin from last year and it says, ‘New York 2, South Korea 1’ on it,” Vivona said. “It’s really cool.”